Wall Street Journal criticizes MCAS critics

The editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal recently took a relatively rare swipe at a local political issue, namely the union-backed ballot proposition that seeks to eliminate MCAS success as a requirement for high school graduation here in Massachusetts.

Earlier this month, the Committee for High Standards Not High Stakes officially launched its “Vote Yes on 2” campaign, which advocates replacing the MCAS graduation requirement with more subjective hurdles that emphasize grades and teacher evaluations to determine whether a student is ready to graduate.

Currently, the MCAS graduation requirement prevents a student from graduating if they do not achieve a certain MCAS score in 10th grade. Supporters of the “yes” campaign claim that replacing the MCAS graduation requirement will create a balanced approach to accountability.

But the magazine The editorial editor didn’t want to hear anything about it and titled the comment: “Massachusetts brings vote of failure.”

“Teachers' unions' indifference to student failure is widespread in many public school systems, but in Massachusetts they are now attacking success.”

The purpose of MCAS, says the author, is to ensure that students do not fall through the cracks, as was often the case before MCAS, when too many graduates lacked even basic academic skills.

Thanks in no small part to MCAS, Massachusetts ranks among the top nationally in student achievement.

The Journal noted that the proposal was “so radical that not even many Democratic lawmakers can support it.”

The author concluded, “Unions hate graduation requirements because the results shine a light on low-performing schools. Instead, they want to enshrine the bigotry of low expectations.”